


Accidental Job Acquisition

by Evian_99



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alien others, Alternate Universe - Space, Annabeth has angel-like wings, Faerie prince Nico, Gen, Human Percy, Humans are feared in the intergalactic scene, Humans are space orcs, Pirate Percy - Freeform, Princess Annabeth, Rebellion, Sounds fitting for my ideas XD, bomb attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28313094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evian_99/pseuds/Evian_99
Summary: Percy is a disillusioned ex-fighter pilot who after turning to piracy has lost his ship. At a loss of what to do, fate offers him a hand when a devastating explosion rocks the planet he has sought refuge on.Now with a new potential family at his side, he can finally do what he loves: saving those in need.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	Accidental Job Acquisition

**Author's Note:**

> I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2021 for you and everyone you hold dear <3
> 
> Also small trigger warning: the story starts during a bomb attack. It's not very graphically described, but I want you to choose for yourself whether you want to read that. If you're still interested in the concept, I do have several one-shots planned in this verse that have absolutely no mention of anything like such an attack, so just keep an eye out on the tags and the beginning notes (in case there might be a trigger warning) ^^

Percy moves to his spot as the first in line when the windows explode around him. His mouth, opened to order, closes with a snap. His instincts take over. He ducks, never more grateful to be wearing his ex-agency’s magenta monstrosity of a jacket. As a piece of glass nicks his cheek, he knows its high collar has protected him from getting his throat slit.

A heavy weight knocks him off his feet and crushes him against the counter. His breath is forced from his lungs, panic instantly squeezing his throat shut. Tensing every muscle as he awkwardly presses his hands against the scaly debris, he pushes with all the strength inside of him.

The weight doesn’t even budge.

As the dust settles, the screaming starts. He hears panicked voices speaking in a dozen languages and a man crying. Someone is praying; the wail loud enough to drown out all else surely belonging to someone who has just lost someone dear to them. Percy focuses on taking laboured breaths, cursing his legs that are already cramping up.

It is a relief when the weight gets rolled off. A strong arm helps him up, holding him through a sudden wave of dizziness. Gathering his wits takes more time than he would’ve liked with the training they put him through. When he finally does manage, he sees that the bulky squid-like alien previously behind him was the one to squish him.

He hasn’t survived.

‘Thank you,’ he says. His words feel clumsy in his mouth—his vocal cords refusing to properly function. He rubs his eyes to get the dust out and blinks to focus his gaze. His rescuer is… very tiny. For once, he isn’t the smallest in the room.

That shouldn’t make him feel so pleased.

His outward appearance is that of a purple-skinned human, but one with delicate fairy wings on his back. The explosion has ripped bleeding gashes right through. Percy feels his eyes widen as he realises who it is, but just as he wants to curtsy to greet him with the proper etiquette, his eyes flutter shut and he collapses against him in a dead faint.

Now properly in a state of panic, he tries to keep him upright. Desperately, he looks around, searching for a hint of his entourage, but he finds no-one. ‘Consider this my payment of this life-debt,’ the human says as he hauls his arm over his shoulders, ‘Man, you faeries sure weigh a ton.’

Walking is painful. His knees have taken a severe hit, making him mutter a little prayer for nothing to be torn or broken.

That setback would be the cherry of a pie of misery.

It is a chore to get the faerie over the debris out of the store. Mayhem greets him. Everywhere he looks there are bodies littering the ground. Countless fires and tons of debris have turned the once-thriving shopping district into a war zone. The first sirens are already nearing. There won’t be much time before the Ghov’an military will arrive and he very much would like to be long gone by then.

Being a pirate isn’t going to invite a merry tea-party when he’s caught.

At the docks, the chaos is, if possible, even bigger. However, the situation has one major advantage, and that is that no-one looks at him weirdly as he drags the heir to the throne of Ducai over his shoulder.

How he manages to enter a ship, he can’t quite remember the next morning. A flare of pain blooms up in his neck the moment his key slots into the door of his capsule, joining the prince in the realm of Orphi’ll.

Percy likes to believe that he didn’t go down like a sack of potatoes, fighting valiantly against his mysterious attackers, but there’s really no use in denying the truth.

When he wakes, it is with a pounding headache. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tentatively moves to peek out of the window. Though mildly disappointed, he isn’t surprised to see nothing but void. It seems like he’ll have to make a trip to figure out what ship he entered.

He pulls his covers to sit under his chin, adjusting his legs so that he sits cross-legged. His stolen communication device is innocently in the windowsill, its screen as dark as the space outside. Seeing it there makes him question whether he is, in fact, a prisoner. There’s no question that he was purposely knocked out, which in his profession hardly ever means something good.

Honestly, there’s only one way to find out, and that is to leave the relative safety of the miniature capsule chamber. The motivation to do that, though, is far away.

The door opens.

Percy pulls his covers even higher, glaring at the person intruding to mask the grating feeling of vulnerability. These are the moments he really wished he went through that weapons training. When he recognises who it is, he quickly settles down. ‘Prince Nikos,’ he stammers, unable to mask his surprise, ‘I… didn’t expect you to see you so well.’

Which he does. There’s no sign of bleeding holes in his wings nor of any of the gushing wounds caused by projectile pieces of glass. In fact, there’s no sign on him whatsoever that he was even near the explosion—or is there? The visage of him all hale and healthy seems… off. The faerie’s cheeks are just a little too fever-red, his body language just a tad too tense.

Then he realises. ‘You’re wearing a glamour.’ He’d heard faeries could do that—their society is notorious for condemning any outward signs of imperfections—but he’s never actually seen them do it. ‘How are you even standing? You were in a much worse condition then me.’

He doesn’t speak.

Narrowing her eyes, Percy puts on what the quartermaster used to call his mom-voice: ‘How long was I out?’

‘Technically, you were knocked out for, like, ten minutes,’ Nikos says, rubbing the back of his neck and wincing, ‘but the captain took the executive decision to put you in stasis for seven months. The Auhrals are… positively terrified of humans.’ He steps backwards as if afraid for her reaction, grabbing the door to shield him from her fury.

Which doesn’t come, too stunned as he is. It is as if his mind has short-circuited. The ex-fighter pilot opens his mouth only to close it and repeat the process five times before finally asking: ‘I’m assuming we’re nearing our destination then?’

‘No?’

Faeries aren’t supposed to be so fidgety. They praise themselves for their poise, with their crown prince being famous for it. It is yet another glaring red flag waving happily in front of the flashing neon sign that all is truly and deeply wrong.

He grabs his phone but doesn’t turn it on. Percy pinches the bridge of his nose, frowning as he takes in his surprise companion. It clicks. ‘You woke me up unauthorised.’ Quickly, he waves him in. ‘Don’t stand there! If they don’t want me up and about, they’ll have eyes watching this door.’

Likely on the inside of the room as well, but he won’t deal with that just yet.

‘Did they patch you up?’ It is a fine balance between gathering the intel he needs and not making the conversation awkward. It’s clear as day that Nikos feels at a loss. He’s like a skittish animal that’s been cornered in an alley.

In the meantime, he presses his fingers into his legs, stretches his arms and moves his back and neck to check whether there’s anything broken or bruised. While that is luckily not the case, the mass of his muscles has drastically slunk, making it a sure pain to get somewhat back in shape.

Nevertheless, his ability to roll with the unexpected has always been his strong suit. Everything can happen when in space. Processing the fact that he has just missed out on seven months of time is therefore a definite winner of a first-class ticket to the back burner. ‘Do you know where this ship is heading?’

His answers aren’t very forthcoming and so Percy tries—and fails—to convince him to sit with him on his bed. Pulling out his last trick card, he ensures that his voice is all sweet and gentle when he says: ‘Listen.’ The pirate leans closer, clasping his hands together on his lap. ‘I want to help you get out of here, but I need information to ensure we survive the attempt.’

That finally seems to rouse him. Percy smiles with all the kindness he can muster to encourage him to finally sit down.

He does. ‘I don’t think they know who I am.’

Surprised, he can’t suppress a quiet ‘huh’. Considering he hasn’t got a clue of what’s going on in this vessel, nor of the intentions of its occupants, it is actually a small mercy. ‘Good,’ he says, ‘Has there been a stop already?’

‘Not as far as I know, but I’ve been in the infirmary for most of the time. The first weeks were rough.’ He looks down at that. All the pride so excessively present in the faeries he has come across has been stripped from him.

It’s unsettling.

Luckily, Nikos finally starts to relax. He settles into the same position he’s sitting in and even partially releases his hold over his glamour.

Percy feels honoured at the show of trust.

The faerie is whispering, constantly looking over his shoulder to check whether someone might attempt to enter. ‘I’ve overheard other passengers talking that we’ll soon enter the Adastreia Galaxy. Most of the travellers are from there, and…’ He falls silent, facial expression one of deep concern. ‘You must know why this is problematic.’

He doesn’t have to ask for clarification, intimately aware of the galaxy’s status in the black market for alien parts. But just as he can properly start placing down the puzzle pieces of his plan of action, there’s the sound of automatic laser guns firing in the hallway.

The ship is under siege.

Damn.

The curse Annabeth had muttered would’ve given her queenly mother a heart attack. However, since her mother is long since dead and buried for her, she really couldn’t care less. Straightening her back as she stands in the command centre of her ship, she silently studies the ship in front of them.

According to her spies, this must be the one containing the heir of the fearsome faerie king Hades.

She breathes a nervous sigh. If they were right, and she succeeds in her rescue operation, Hades will be in her debt. Which, considering how awful her rebellion is going can make or break her dream.

‘Your highness,’ her trusted friend Grover interrupts her thoughts, ‘everyone is in position. We are awaiting your command.’

The princess nods almost robot-like. She closes her eyes in a vain attempt to steel herself. ‘Good.’ Turning to face him, any lingering sense of hesitation and doubt has vanished. ‘We will attack on my signal.’

Nikos looks at him with a panicked expression. ‘What do we do? We’re going to die, aren’t we?’

The pirate smiles in what he hopes comes across as encouraging. Despite that humans have been travelling the stars for a while, baring teeth is still often mistaken as threatening. It has led to quite the frequent diplomatic crisis. And, as the faerie keeps his face carefully under control, Percy isn’t sure how he’s taking it.

‘We are not. This isn’t my first icky situation.’ He rubs a hand over the back of his neck. That memory isn’t one he likes to return to. Nor the other dozen times it happened. Being a pirate isn’t your safe office job.

Getting up from the bed, he feels wobbly. The muscles in his legs are already straining to keep his weight. Between gritted teeth, he continues: ‘I will do a rain check, but once we go out, I want you to follow my commands without questioning. Only then do we stand a chance of making it out alive.’

It’s a small chance, but still—he has beaten worse odds.

Nikos nods. He braces himself, shoving away his pain with remarkable determination. ‘I shall follow your every command.’

Again, Percy feels himself warm at the sheer trust the prince puts in him. It’s a nice, fuzzy feeling, especially considering that it has been a long, long time since he trusted himself for anything more than waking up in the morning.

As often with his plans, it goes off the rails within minutes of entering the hallway. Deciding to throw it right out of the window, the human does what he does best: winging it. 

How his improv results in him being judo flipped by a beautiful, winged angel and consequently knocked out… he isn’t sure. But he sure as hell isn’t mad about it. And waking up with her curiously sitting beside his bed, too, is something he could find himself getting used to. Her insulting him straight off the bat… he could do without.

Still, beggars can’t be choosers.

‘Who are you?’ She doesn’t waste any time interrogating him. With a sharp, calculating gaze, Percy feels as if she can look straight into his soul. ‘Crown prince Nikos told me you are the reason he is still alive.’ 

‘I suppose’, he answers. He winces at the pain in his skull—as low, throbbing headache that is unrelenting in its desire to inconvenience him. ‘Speaking of him, where is he?’ He did sort-of promise to save him after all.

‘He is unhurt, but not because of your lack of trying. What were you thinking?’

Feeling put on his defence by the accusatory tone he shouts: ‘In that room we would’ve been sitting ducks! This hasn’t been my first rodeo; I know how to stay out of the way of laser beams.’ He is glaring, instantly disliking the pretty blond.

Taken aback, the winged alien glares at him before stalking out of the med-bay in a huff.

Percy stays in his bed, somewhat taken aback by her abrupt departure. He doesn’t stay alone for long as a nervous looking Nikos enters the small space. A smile finds itself to his lips. Despite not having had much chance to properly speak with the faerie, he has already taken an immense liking to him.

Something in his demeanour is speaking to him, whether it’s the hint mischief on his lips or the homesick longing in his eyes. 

‘Hello,’ he greets, ‘see you’ve been patched up for real now?’ It is obvious to him how Nikos dropped the glamour. The too perfect sheen is no longer there, having made way for a more natural looking skin texture.

Nikos’ awkward body language is both amusing and endearing. ‘I am,’ he stiffly says after some hesitation, ‘I owe you my life, and for that you have mine and all my people’s eternal gratitude.’

He waves the high praises away, never one for the spotlight. ‘I’m happy to help.’ In what some would describe as his impish smile, he continues: ‘and I would be even more happy if you would like to become my friend. I think you’re really… cool.’

Inwardly, he curses himself for talking without first considering his words. This is really not how you talk to royalty, especially not the fearsome crown prince of the Plutonian faeries. He can’t help it, though, the Nikos he has seen is everything but fearsome.

A half-goat, half-young man enters the med-bay. He bleats, causing Percy to struggle to keep his laughter in. ‘Good to see you awake!’ he enthusiastically says, ‘We were worried for a bit.’ 

Then, realising that he hasn’t introduced himself, he rushes: ‘My name is Grover, I am a sátyros from Bacchus and the right hand of princess Annabeth.’ At his uncomprehending expression he adds: ‘The lady you just met.’

Percy groans—he really has a hand of making dashing impressions on royalty. Not. Thinking the situation over, he decides that the best way forward is to get proper understanding of the situation he has landed himself into. ‘She owns this ship, I assume?’

Grover nods. He puffs up his chest as he says: ‘She has taken the noble mission on herself to rebel against the terror reign of the Auhrals.’ A little bit more hesitant, he adds: ‘And we would love to have you on our side. Your reputation precedes you Perseus.’

Now the pirate does curse aloud. It would’ve been too easy for them to not know who he is. Still, looking at Nikos, he finds himself considering despite his heavy doubts. ‘What are your plans?’ he asks the faerie, needing to know what he will do. With all his bridges literally burned in Ghov’an, this option is as good as any.

‘I have spoken in length with princess Annabeth and I have decided to ally myself with her in exchange for her help. My visit to Ghov’an came from our hand being forced.’ He looks deeply saddened.

Percy feels started by his urge to make the expression go away.

Shyly looking over, Nikos asks a question he could’ve never resisted. He’s so weak for those eyes. ‘I would feel much reassured if I could have you by my side for it. We can really use your qualities.’

Quick as that he has decided, and he says so. ‘We can negotiate the terms of my aid later, but for now,’ he spreads his arms as he makes himself comfortable in the bed, ‘you can consider me on your side.’

The beaming smile of both aliens make him smile. He’s been alone for so long that this can only be good for him. Percy has desperately missed the social contact and saving those in need has always been somewhat of a weakness of his. 

He can’t wait to see where this adventure takes him.


End file.
